Being a clotheshorse means that I've an appetite for skiing apparel. My first yellow Bogner ski jacket was vintage 1976 that screamed of European sophistication. It may have been a little "out there" for a kid at the time but the quality was distinctly apparent.

Sporting the new "Rocket" by Volkl Performance Wear

Selling ski equipment at Sport Mart on Main Street in Westport, CT and Olympic skier/businessman Frank Vener at Hansen’s taught me volumes on how to be successful in business.

The most important thing is to sell the best quality products available and support them with world-class customer service. When something goes amiss, going the extra mile pays off. If you follow these rules you’ll have a customer for life and your reputation will be top-notch too . As a customer, it’s this mantra that resonates and drives the purchase process.

Volkl Performance Wear stands head and shoulders above the competition. Their hip designs set the tone for the mountain living lifestyle. Each year, the designers are able to take the pulse of the market and deliver. They use space age Nano technology and high tech engineered fabrics that enable the products to repel the weather and get you down the mountain in style.

Do you have a favorite ski outfit? You know the one that if the baggage handlers lost or the zipper malfunctioned you’d be besides yourself? How could you even envision going on a ski trip without it? What would you do? When my ski jacket zipper broke, I decided to give Volkl a call and see if they’d fix my problem.

It was easy to get in touch with customer service via their website. Although it was the busy holiday season, it took them only a few days to get a return authorization number (RA#) so I could send my jacket back for repair. No worries there. One of the issues in making products with high design and special components is that it’s hard to stock or reproduce custom parts after a certain amount of time. My jacket's cool yellow space-age zipper was holding up the repair process. January went by and then February... Uh oh!

Finally, I had to call them directly because it was not possible to replace the yellow zipper and we were leaving for Northstar at Tahoe the following week. Ugh!

The customer service representative suggested that we speak with Brad Bunker. Brad is the Senior Vice President of Volkl Performance Wear. He runs the show. OK. I was feeling better in his hands. Brad was super understanding and explained the issues regarding securing the replacement yellow zipper. He offered to send a new jacket and pants to the Ritz Carlton at Northstar Tahoe so I’d have something to wear while we were resolving the situation. Now that’s customer service folks. A big customer hug goes a long way. Problem solved. I love Volkl!

The Volkl care package was waiting for us when we checked into the Ritz. Opening it felt like Christmas. Exciting. What jacket and pants did Brad send? What color were they? The anticipation was killing me. I couldn’t wait so I used the bellman’s keys to slice open the packaging tape.

My New Jacket Hangs Proudly Next To My Old Favorite!

The jacket was yellow! How appropriate. It was the “Rocket” complete with coordinating pants. Both had all the bells and whistles: (detachable 3-piece hood, laser cut waterproof zippers, articulated fit, powder belt, pockets galore, etc.) but the biggest deal was the waterproof, breathable laminate (Sympatex 20,000mm/45,000g/m), which is the max for waterproof/breathability and ultimate protection and comfort.

The other big surprise was that my favorite Volkl jacket that started this interesting episode in customer service was in the box too. Volkl had replaced the yellow zipper with a black one. Not only did it look great in black but they’d made me a customer for life too. Job well done Volkl. You got it right in a world filled with outsourced customer service chaos. What a delight this experience was.

famtripper fun fact

Ponte Vecchio'sDid you know that the Ponte Vecchio's status as the oldest bridge in Florence saved it from destruction? During the Nazi retreat, they thankfully defied orders to blow it up. The ancient buildings on either side of the Arno River were not spared, they were sadly destroyed.